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NEWARK, N.J. -- It's time Kevin Cheveldayoff sheds the conservative label and takes a big swing for the fences.

Through his first two years on the job as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, Cheveldayoff has done little to change the core of this organization.

That's not a knock, it's a fact.

There have been minor moves and waiver wire additions, some of which have turned out well (see: Grant Clitsome and James Wright), but the bulk of the changes have come to the periphery, not the key cogs.

Although the signing of free agent Olli Jokinen has yet to yield results, it allowed top prospect Mark Scheifele the additional year to get himself ready for prime time.

And Jokinen is more determined than ever to have a bounce-back season.

Since the announcement of the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers, it was obvious that it was going to be some time before the Jets were major players in the high stakes game of free agency.

This organization stated immediately that its vision included building through the draft and would more than likely be a mid-cap team that is closer to the floor than to the ceiling.

It's obvious that Cheveldayoff and his staff needed time to assess what the Jets had in their system during the first season and that the lockout-shortened campaign brought its own set of challenges, but it's not a stretch to suggest that these next few weeks will be among the most important of the GMs tenure.

After missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, the pressure to qualify for the post-season is building.

That doesn't mean making an irrational decision that could put the franchise back another five years by mortgaging the future for potential short-term gain -- the Thrashers know all about how that plays out.

"We're still a young franchise when it comes to where we're at," Cheveldayoff said earlier this week. "We're still in our infancy when it comes to trying to build for the long-term."

True enough, but due to a couple of important factors the Jets find themselves in position to strike.

In an off-season that will see the salary cap drop to just over $64 million, there are several teams who are in a bind to get below that number.

While some GMs of those franchises will do their best to extract as much value as possible, at some point several of them need to blink in this game of chicken.

That means high-profile players will be on the market and available at a reduced rate.

In case you've forgotten, Cheveldayoff knows what it's like to be on that side of the fence, working tirelessly to crunch the numbers and being forced to move players off the roster to balance the books.

Cheveldayoff was the assistant GM and essentially the capologist of the Chicago Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and were forced to dismantle the juggernaut just days after lifting Lord Stanley's mug.

Some of those deals led captain Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien to become members of the Jets.

Now it's time for Cheveldayoff to play the role of the predator and not the prey to possibly bring in that Top-6 forward to play alongside Evander Kane or a Top-4 defenceman to partner with Zach Bogosian.

To that end, the Jets have several things working in their favour: they've got ample cap salary-cap space (with just over $35 million committed to 12 players so far), along with 10 picks in Sunday's 2013 NHL Entry Draft -- including six in the first three rounds.

While it's true Cheveldayoff is tasked with being creative to keep several important free agents (both of the restricted and unrestricted variety), the Jets find themselves in a much better situation than many of their NHL brethren.

Now that the table has been set, it's time to see if Cheveldayoff can deliver.

As Advertised in the Winnipeg SUN

Time for Chevy to get in gear

Needs to make mark now

NEWARK, N.J. -- It's time Kevin Cheveldayoff sheds the conservative label and takes a big swing for the fences.

Through his first two years on the job as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, Cheveldayoff has done little to change the core of this organization.

That's not a knock, it's a fact.

There have been minor moves and waiver wire additions, some of which have turned out well (see: Grant Clitsome and James Wright), but the bulk of the changes have come to the periphery, not the key cogs.

Although the signing of free agent Olli Jokinen has yet to yield results, it allowed top prospect Mark Scheifele the additional year to get himself ready for prime time.

And Jokinen is more determined than ever to have a bounce-back season.